7 dead after gang attack near Kenya casino, police

A bare-chested gang of youths armed with machetes and other crude weapons attacked a policeman near a casino and later attacked a police station on Kenya's coast early Thursday, officials said. Six gang members and one policeman died during the violence.

The gang gathered near the casino in the coastal town of Malindi at about 2 a.m. The casino locked all its doors but the gang killed a police officer on duty there. The gang later battled with police near the police station.

Coastal police boss Aggrey Adoli said one policeman and six gang members died. Adoli said officials suspect the gang was part of a separatist group called the Mombasa Republican Council.

Justin Kaingu, a night security guard who said he witnessed the violence, said he saw a group of bare-chested youths armed with machetes and other crude weapons advancing toward the casino. "The group stood at the roadside for a few minutes ... I heard gunshots shortly after seeing them," he said.

Four suspects were arrested after they returned to the scene to collect the bodies of their colleagues.

Attacks carried out on the day of Kenya's presidential election in the coastal towns of Mombasa and Kilifi killed 19 people. Police also blamed that violence on the separatist group.